Five Best anti-wrinkle serums for 40 and 50-somethings

Please check out our Five Best anti-wrinkle serums for 40 and 50- somethings 2010 here.

I've been mulling this post for a few weeks. Here at Truth In Aging, we have tried so many new anti-aging serums that it seemed high time to update our Five Best. It was not proving to be easy to narrow our recommendations to a mere five. Still, I suppose that's a nice problem to have. In the end, I decided to focus our picks on the really heavy-duty wrinkle busters. For this reason, I have not included Image Skincare Ageless Total Anti-aging serum, which I regard more of a brightener and skin tone improver and which, in any case, I use as a kind of exfoliating base for any other serum I'm using. Anyhow, if you feel like your skin is getting too big for you, check these out.

Skinceuticals CE Ferulic Combination Antioxidant Treatment ($98). People rave about Skinceutical's signature product and Kate is no exception. In her review, she said it was "one of hands-down BEST products I have tried". It falls into both the sun damage prevention and the sun damage repair category. There is vitamin C and E, but the secret sauce isferulic acid, which increases the antioxidant activity of the vitamins and arms them with powers to prevent sun damage. The smell strongly resembles sardine oil, but don't hold that against it - it does what it promises to do! The product is not going to deliver results overnight, but it certainly delivers when used long term (60+ days minimum).

Medik8 Firewall ($145 in the shop). An occupational hazard is that with so many creams to try out I am as promiscuous as a publicity-hungry starlet. Consequently, the litmus test for me is how reluctant I am to stop using something and alight on the next new find. Well, I don't want to give up using Medik8 Firewall and I will probably fork out my own money for a second bottle. So what are the actives that pack Firewall’s punch? There are several forms of copper in Firewall. Copper is the key mineral in lysyl oxidase, an enzyme which weaves together collagen and elastin, and there is a mountain of research on how topical applications of copper heal wounds. An especially interesting ingredient is N-acetyl cysteine, which helps synthesize glutathione, one of the body’s most important natural antioxidants and detoxifiers. Also on the of-high-interest list is Liprochroman-6, listed here as dimethylmethoxy chromanol (look out for it in the new formulations of the Your Best Face range). I wager that this is going to be an antioxidant to watch and that it will start showing up more and more in high-end, anti-aging potions. Lipochroman-6 is an able scavenger of two free radicals: RNS and ROS. (Buy from Medik8).

Circadia’s Myo-Cyte Rx Serum($150). I won’t pretend that it isn’t on the pricey side, but this really works. As soon as I finished the tiny sample bottle (which was enough to fade a few lines pretty dramatically), I immediately forked out $150 and now whenever I get "testing fatigue" and need something simple that works, I go right back to it. Myo-Cyte has Matrixyl 3000, carnosine (which extends the Hayflick Limit - the number of times a cell can reproduce itself) and threonine, which helps keep connective tissues and muscles throughout the body strong and elastic.

After some hesitation, I decided to include Dermaheal Redesign Miracle Serum. Very simply it works. I tried it for two weeks and a couple of fine lines were distinctly less visible. In fact, esthetician asked me what I was using and then said I looked as if I'd had Botox. There were no adverse reactions and, given my hyper-sensitive skin, that’s a miracle in itself. I like the ingredients, which are predominantly plant extracts and peptides, some of which are new discoveries for me. And I really like the fact that there is nothing not to like. Dermaheal is a brand that prides itself on being free of parabens and other preservatives. I hesitated to recommend it because it has to be bought as a set (cheesily called Two Weeks Miracle) with eye cream, PH balancer and cream for $140 for a month's supply. I found that it lasts much longer, but it's still expensive and I don't like being locked into a whole range (I already have a favorite eye cream). Would I buy it again? Yes, probably. If they break out the serum so I can skip the whole set, then YES - in a heartbeat.

ReLuma Skin Illuminating Anti-aging Serum ($135 in the TIA shop). As Chris, our reader reviewer, put it: this delivers. ReLuma uses human growth factors or human fibroblast conditioned media. These originate as adult stem cells. ReLuma has nine different growth factors that do different things. For example, TGF-B is thought to be the most important because its signals are recognized by the majority of cells. TGF-B expression is also induced during wound healing and studies show that it can increase collagen and fibronectin. Meanwhile, PDGF “increases the rate of cellularity and granulation in tissue formation through increased fibroblast function“. In the meantime, this isn't for everyone. A lovely, creamy complexioned 30-something friend of mine tried it and wasn't bowled over. However, this kind of serum has to have something to repair. Try it on real wrinkles.

is a Solution for:

Sagging Skin

November 30, 2009

by Laura

Has anyone tried other similar products such as REluma or TNS? TNS costs almost as much as the A&G and I've been using for a month and have not seen dramatic results. The A&G website does not list ingredients and I'm not really sure which serum to try...Active serum? I am 48 and have dry skin and some wrinkles but trying to deal with firming and improving elasticity. Marta speaks highly of the Reluma but I've also been reading about A&G...any comments would be appreciated!

September 1, 2009

by Stephanie

What is A&G?

September 1, 2009

by Bess

Ann -- couldn't agree more. I've never before used a product like A&G, it's amazing.

Additionally, based on this article, I have been using C-Ferulic. It has a nice tightening effect, but my real expectation is long term.

Truth in Aging reviews anti-aging serums, moisturizers, eye creams and more. To find the best natural skincare, we test products for 30 days and share our experiences in objective reviews. Only products recommended by our community are sold in the Truth In Aging shop.